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Solar Panel Charging Questipn

Solar Panel Charging Questipn

Solar Panel Charging Questipn
Solar Panel Charging Questipn
Monday
Model: Tapo A200  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version:

Does the solar panel need direct sunlight to charge the camera? I already had the C425 kit with the panel on the rear of the house (facing South), and it works well keeping the camera battery charged. Got another one for the front of the house. But it doesn't seem to be charging the battery. I don't see the charge Icon on the battery for the device, and it's gone down 3 % in a day, where the one on the back stays at 100% or quickly charges back to 100% in a few hours each day. 

The panel on the front is in the shade, but is facing the open sky. There is no place on the front of the house that receives direct sunlight, just the light of day. I've had other panels that dont' require direct sunlight to produce current, just not a strong as when they are in direct sunlight. 

 

Trying to figure out if this is going to work, or maybe the panel is defective. 

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#1
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3 Reply
Re:Solar Panel Charging Questipn
Tuesday

  @RReuscher,

If the solar panels are accessible and the same model, you may consider swapping to see if they perform equally.

 

There are quite a few things that an affect the efficiency of a solar panel - and putting it outside of direct sunlight can make these variations more extreme. Things like the weather and time of year will have a more dramatic effect.

 

I would double check to make sure that the panel is fully connected to the back of the camera. The waterproof connectors used for the connection often require a bit more force than you would initally expect a USB plug to need. I would also go into the device settings for your camera in the Tapo app and see if you have the Solar Charging Data (Beta) feature. This feature will allow you to see how quickly the panel is charging and draining.

Check out the Latest: Getting Started with EasyMesh and TP-Link New Tablet Mode for the Tapo App Comparing the Latest Tapo Doorbells
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#2
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Re:Solar Panel Charging Questipn
Tuesday

  @Riley_S 

Thanks, 

I'm aware that solar panels can have lots of variation, just wasn't sure about this particular product. I have a number of devices that have Solar charing capabilities, and they work just from ambient daylight (just not as powerful). 

 

The devices are somewhat accessible, (via ladder). Went and rechecked the connections and it looke the short adapter cable connection to the camera might have come loose when I connected the panel power cable to it, but not all the way out. touched it and it fell out with the waterproof plugin. Reseated all of that, and now the batter Icon shows green and the charge icon on.

 

Do have that Solar Charging Data feature in the app, and for this camera it comes back "Works fine" now that everything is connected firmly. Interesting enough, the other camera tells me there is no power supply to it, but that battery is fully charged after a few minutes of sunlight this morning. Will check that again when It says it's charging.

 

Thanks again, saved having get my usb voltage monitor out and trying to get it inline. 

 

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#3
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Re:Solar Panel Charging Questipn
Yesterday

  @RReuscher,

Glad to hear it was something that simple. 

 

If the battery is fully charged, I would expect that this would be the case as the cameras are probably denying any incoming power to protect the battery - It is better to think of the solar panel as an actual charger, rather than something like a trickle-charger.

Check out the Latest: Getting Started with EasyMesh and TP-Link New Tablet Mode for the Tapo App Comparing the Latest Tapo Doorbells
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